


That One Time I Pissed Off a Goddess and Got a Boyfriend

by Marviscatstone



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Chiron - Freeform, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Hera is such a bitch, M/M, Mermaids, Poseidon - Freeform, Rachel Dare - Freeform, Random Updates, Reyna Arez Ramirez Arellano, Slow Burn, The Trials of Apollo Spoilers, You Have Been Warned, no trolls please, you just gotta love this ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marviscatstone/pseuds/Marviscatstone
Summary: Hera can hold a grudge for eternity. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have a sense of humor.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase/Piper McLean, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Percy Jackson, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 20
Kudos: 140





	1. Fish Out of Water

Percy loved Annabeth.

No, really. He gave up immortality for her. He fell into Tartarus with her. He helped her dead cousin learn how to dive.

But he wasn't stupid.

He knew that even if it was a dream, dropping Hera in a river had been a _really_ stupid thing to do. He knew that Annabeth had been terrified of him ever since the River of Night with Akhlys. He knew that Jason was torn up about Piper and Piper was just as bad.

But Percy was a good bro. He comforted Piper and Jason, gave Annabeth her space and smiled like his heart wasn't breaking. Hera would get her revenge one day. Maybe he'd die. Maybe he wouldn't.

...in retrospect, he really should've known better than to sleep in the sea.

Hera really was a _bitch._

He told his father as much, but Poseidon was busy blasting his new tail with his trident, trying desperately to get his son back to normal.

Oh, yeah, he had a _tail,_ because apparently that was a _thing_ now. A blue fish tail instead of legs. He also had fins along the backs of his arms and one down his back. Oh, and also gills, so he couldn't talk to his friends to tell them what was going on. Unless he wanted to choke and suffocate on land.

"Dad?"

Poseidon was napping on his throne and jolted up with a guilty start. "Yes, Percy?"

Percy idly flexed his fins, watching as the spines flattened down and rose up again and again. "How do you think Hera did this? I mean, it's not like she can control the sea or do transformations. The most she did to Annabeth was send cows after her."

"Hmm," Poseidon scratched his chin with his trident. "I suppose she must have asked Nereus. He holds quite the grudge against you as well."

Percy sighed and slumped down to the floor of palace. "Great. I ticked off some of the strongest divinities in the world and they decided to gang up on me." He flipped his tail. "I suppose I should be glad Zeus and Hades didn't join in."

Poseidon coughed into his fist. "I think you're just lucky Hades has forgiven you and Zeus isn't petty enough to do something like this. He's more likely to smite you on the spot."

Percy blinked. "Hades has forgiven me? Since when?"

"About the time _his_ idiot son made him charge into battle."

"Who, Nico? He only did that because he li— Hey! What do you mean, _his_ idiot son?"

Poseidon chuckled. "Word spreads quickly among the gods. We may not get along too well, but we're still family. All three of us have our stupid sons. We always have. I have you, Hades has Nico and Zeus has Jason. You've made some bad decisions, but who hasn't? We're all proud of you."

"Yeah." Percy watched a trail of bubbles swirl past. "How... How are they doing? Now that I've disappeared again."

Poseidon sighed. "They... aren't taking it well."

He knew he was putting it mildly. Sally was desperate for news of her son. The team was full on _panicking._ They had sent messages to everyone they knew, including the ichthyocentaurs. He was surprised that they hadn't had a visit with them yet, but knew he shouldn't be. They didn't like him very much.

Poseidon looked up at the ceiling of his newly rebuilt palace as though he could see through it. He longed to contact them, tell them Percy was safe, but Zeus still hadn't let up on his proclamation. Poseidon sighed again, resting heavily on his trident.

"Percy... Maybe you should go to the surface. Try to talk to them."

"Dad, I tried. You know I tried, but I—"

He cut himself off abruptly and shook his head. They both knew why.

Hera really was _such_ a bitch.


	2. Threads Breaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, there is only one strand in the rope. One tiny, delicate, fraying strong holding you above the abyss. Until the thread snaps and you fall.
> 
> Or: Jason is depressed and starts to fall, but Percy catches him.

Jason woke up with a jolt, disoriented. His eyes darted around the room as he furrowed his brow in concentration. Then his eyes caught on the garden in the window and he realized where he was.

He had fallen asleep in Percy's cabin again.

His own cabin had always felt so empty, Thalia never around to share it with. At least Nico had Hazel whenever she decided to visit. And Percy had Tyson, sometimes. But Thalia stayed in the Artemis cabin with her Hunters.

Last night had been irritating, to say the least. Ever since last week, he'd been on constant watch, with one of the Seven, Coach Hedge, Reyna or Nico making sure he was where he was supposed to be every hour. He understood their concern, really he did, but they weren't helping.

_Jason sat on the edge of the cliff in the woods, looking down at the ocean. Percy filled his thoughts, where he was, if he was okay, if the gods had dragged him into another ridiculous quest. His little sister was starting to crawl, his mother was panicking again and everyone was looking for him._

_He didn't remember falling._

_One moment, he was sitting there on the cliff, the next, Will Solace was dragging him out of the water while he coughed up seawater as Nico patted his back._

He missed Percy. He could see the worry in everyone's eyes: fear for Percy and concern for him. Concern that he might have actually meant to fall, that he wasn't as stable as they all thought.

Quite frankly, they were almost right. He wouldn't mind letting go, he just hadn't meant to right then.

A smile tugged at his lips as he imagined what Percy would have thought if he said that aloud. The half-laugh, half-groan at the Frank pun, followed quickly by that fierce protectiveness Percy had over his friends. _"Dude, you are not allowed to die, understand? We're done with quests."_

 _Right back at'cha, Perce,_ Jason thought. _I thought you swore you were sticking around this time._

But the gods didn't care.

Jason slid out of bed, shirtless, but still wearing jeans. It was early morning. Nico wouldn't be up and neither would anyone else. Maybe it was time. No one would follow him, not now. 

The sand was still chilly, the faint rays of the rising sun doing little to warm it. Jason sat down, the waves lapping against his bare feet. He leaned back on his hands, looking up at the pink wisps of cloud that streaked the sky.

Then he lowered his gaze, down to where the sun burned molten bright at the horizon, the beginning of a new day.

"Heya, Perce," he said. "It's morning. I don't know where you are, but I'd like to imagine you can hear me." He swallowed, feeling tears stinging at the backs of his eyes as clouds gathered. "Anyway. I miss you, bro."

He blinked hard. "You're the best, you know? Remember when Piper broke up with me? You hugged me and offered to let me in your cabin." He chuckled softly. "Man, that night was fun. We ended up wrestling on the floor and I took the top bunk and fell out of bed the next morning and you just laughed. I didn't forget about Piper, not for a minute, but with friends like you and Nico, I figured I could get through it."

The sea didn't respond, but Jason felt warmer. The clouds looming overhead dissipated. "I'm sorry about Annabeth," he said. "You love her, but she... She's scared, Percy. She'll find a way around it. She's been talking to Piper a lot. By the time you come back, I'm sure everything will be okay."

He moved closer to the water, letting it lap at his skin. The waves felt like a dog's tongue, reminding him of Lupa, cleaning him up after a tussle with the pups. He found himself unconsciously moving closer, slipping under the surface.

...What was it about the water that pulled him in?

Until he realized he was moving farther out then he meant to. What had Percy called this again?

 _Riptide._ Just like his sword.

_"If you get caught in a riptide, the best thing you can do is let it carry you out, then swim back with the waves. If you try to fight it, you'll just get tired."_

But if Nico saw him going out to sea, he'd probably panic. He wasn't too far from shore. It should be easy to swim back in.

Until it wasn't.

He didn't know how long he'd been trying to swim back, but he was exhausted. His eyes were starting to close and his hands dropped as the current carried him out.

 _Pathetic,_ he thought.

The waves pulled him under and he felt like he was back in that cave, with Percy and Piper, the nymphs pouring in poisonous water. He could see Percy's worried green eyes, black hair drifting around his head because he was too tired to keep himself dry.

Strong arms pulled him above the water and a voice shouted his name. "Jason! _Jason!"_

_Percy...?_


	3. Unconscious Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy talks to his friend's unconscious body.

_Fuck._

Percy pulled Jason back under the water, panicking as he realized that his eyes were still closed. "No. No, no, no, no, no, _Jason!_ You can't do this to me, man!"

He hugged Jason tight against his chest, summoning hundreds and hundreds of bubbles that swarmed around the limp body in his arms, encasing it in a protective veil of air. "Jason..."

Percy raked a hand through his hair. "I can't... I don't understand." He chuckled. "Jeez, man, last I checked you could breathe underwater just fine. Had your own little tornado suit." The mirth faded as he desperately pressed a hand to Jason's chest, searching for water that he knew wasn't there. "Wake up. Wake up, _please."_

Jason didn't respond. He just hung limply in the water, suspended by the cocoon of bubbles. Percy huffed out a frustrated breath. "I should really just throw you back on shore. I would, if I could trust that you wouldn't just roll into the water and get dragged back out to sea again." He dug the heels of his palms into his eyes until he saw stars. "Also, you look worse than I did after Tartarus."

That wasn't _exactly_ true. When Percy had looked in a mirror after Tartarus, he was shocked at how awful he looked. He was ghostly pale, thinner then before, with haunted, sunken eyes. It only got worse later, as Annabeth did her best to avoid him and he woke up in cold sweat every night, shaking from the nightmares.

Jason had dark circles carved under his eyes and he was definitely thinner, but he retained the healthy tan from being onboard the _Argo II,_ fighting monsters back to back with Percy as they carved a path to Greece.

"You're supposed to be at _college,_ dude. I—" Percy took a deep breath. "We should both be at college." He sighed. "How do we keep ending up like this?"

Silence.

"Alright, since you just floating there is getting reeeaaally frickin' creepy, how about I bring you along with me? To a cave. That's underwater. And you couldn't leave if you wanted to." Percy rolled his eyes. "Because that is somehow less creepy. But anyway, man, you need sleep and it has apparently fallen to me to watch you."

Percy grabbed Jason's ankle and swam off, determinedly not thinking about how Jason trailed after him like a lump of driftwood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to Jaemi_Endarius, without whom this chapter would not exist. Seriously. Thank them.  
> Because I really hit low yesterday and their one comment pulled me back from the brink.


End file.
